"When candidates speak out in support of marriage, voters will reward them; when candidates ignore marriage or actually want to redefine it, they are rejected." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

Washington, DC — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) claimed victory in their efforts to defeat three prominent Republican candidates for the US House and US Senate, and announced they will set their sights on defeating Sen. Rob Portman for reelection in 2016, or if he decides to run for president. Through their Super PAC, the NOM Victory Fund, the nation's largest organization supporting natural marriage opposed the election of Republican US House candidates Carl DeMaio (CA52) and Richard Tisei (MA6) as well as Republican US Senate candidate Monica Wehby of Oregon. Tisei and Wehby were defeated on Election Day while DeMaio conceded defeat yesterday.

"I hope that our success in defeating these three Republican candidates sends a message to the Republican leadership in Washington that the GOP faithful demands candidates who are committed to defending marriage, which is a critical element of the Republican platform," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Together with our success with independent expenditure and grassroots campaigns to help elect pro-marriage Republicans like Thom Tillis, Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst and Ben Sasse, we've proven that speaking out in support of traditional marriage is a winning issue for Republican candidates."

NOM spent over $200,000 in independent expenditures on television ads and mailers in the Tillis and Cotton races, and mounted substantial grassroots efforts including co-sponsoring a bus tour and turning out conservatives to help Joni Ernst (IA), Ben Sasse (NE), and Pat Roberts (KS), along with supporting Governor Sam Brownback (KS).

"Republicans want to support candidates who stand with them to advance policies that promote liberty, prosperity, national security and the natural family," said Brown. "Marriage is the most pro-family, pro-child institution ever devised, one that brings men and women together and forms the ideal environment for any children born of their union. When candidates speak out in support of marriage, voters will reward them; when candidates ignore marriage or actually want to redefine it, they are rejected."

US Senator Rob Portman announced his support for redefining marriage in 2013 after his son told him he was gay. Portman faces voters in Ohio in a 2016 reelection race, but has also been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for president.

"Rob Portman can forget about getting elected President of the United States," said Brown. "If he runs we will make sure that GOP primary voters are aware of his desire to redefine marriage and his willingness to see federal judges set aside the votes of 50 million Americans who enacted marriage amendments across the country because his son is gay. Rob Portman's son has a right to live as he chooses, but that does not give his father the right to redefine marriage. The same voters who just elected pro-marriage candidates like Joni Ernst, Tim Scott, Tom Cotton, Pat Roberts and Thom Tillis are not going to support someone like Rob Portman."

Brown said that if Portman runs for reelection, they will oppose him in Ohio. "The people of Ohio deserve a US Senator who respects their votes for marriage. We hope that Portman faces a stiff challenge in the Republican primary from a candidate who will proudly stand for marriage. We intend to oppose Sen. Portman for reelection, and if he survives a primary challenge we will urge Republicans and Independents to refuse to vote for him in the General Election, just as we successfully did with DeMaio, Tisei and Wehby."

In addition to its work in federal races, NOM also noted the defeat of Republican state Senator Mark Grisanti in New York. Grisanti was one of four GOP Senators who switched their votes and redefined marriage in that state.

"When these Republican Senators betrayed us, we vowed that we would defeat them all," Brown said. "We previously had defeated three of the turncoat Senators, and now we have kept our word that all would be defeated with the ouster of Grisanti. This should also serve notice to Republican leaders that it is political suicide to back Republican candidates who do not fight for traditional marriage."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected], or Matille Thebolt, [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

You’ll recall that when the New York legislature voted to redefine marriage in 2011, NOM pledged to oust the four Republican turncoats that betrayed their party and their constituents by voting against true marriage.

We were able to unseat three of the four, but State Senator Mark Grisanti managed to maintain his seat—until yesterday! Yesterday, with the help of Kevin Stocker, the candidate NOM endorsed and who beat Grisanti in the primary, we kept our promise and sent Grisanti packing from Albany! Even though the Democrat on the ticket ended up gaining the seat, Grisanti's political failures in the primaries and in this general election show that the people of New York he betrayed did not forget.

Just another way that marriage was a key issue in yesterday's elections...

There's only one person on tomorrow's ballot for Congress in the 22nd District who is a true conservative — Claudia Tenney — and I urge you to make sure you vote for her in tomorrow's primary. She is running against the shockingly liberal, pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage incumbent Richard Hanna. It's critical that Hanna be defeated and that a principled conservative like Claudia Tenney be elected.

And be sure to forward this email to all your friends and family in New York who may live in the district, asking them to join you in support of Claudia Tenney for Congress. (The district includes all of Chenango, Cortland, Madison, and Oneida counties, and parts of Broome, Herkimer, Oswego, and Tioga counties.)

Assemblywoman Tenney has received the endorsement of the Conservative Party of the 22nd Congressional District, the Susan B. Anthony List, the National Pro-Life Alliance, New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms, and many others including nationally known conservative political analysts like Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin.

She is New York's top-rated conservative legislator and will take her integrity and leadership to Congress.

In contrast, Rep. Richard Hanna is rated the 3rd most liberal politician in Washington by the National Journal and in 2013 he endorsed same-sex marriage — only the second sitting Republican member of Congress to do so.

NOM has endorsed Claudia Tenney and is funding an independent expenditure effort to help her unseat Congressman Hanna. Above is an image from a mailer we have sent. We are also calling thousands of voters in the district to share our position with them.

Please vote for Assemblywoman Tenney in tomorrow's Republican primary for Congress. In order to move pro-marriage, pro-life, and pro-family legislation through Congress we need leaders like her in Washington.

"Claudia Tenney is a principled conservative who believes in marriage, supports the right of voters to have a say, and will vote to protect innocent human life in the US House." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

Washington, D.C. — The nation's most prominent organization working in support of natural marriage today announced it had launched an independent expenditure campaign to defeat incumbent Republican Representative Richard Hanna, and support his opponent in the GOP primary, Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said it was spending tens of thousands of dollars to defeat Hanna and support Tenney.

"Richard Hanna has abandoned Republican principles and is a foe of New York families. He wants to redefine marriage and has refused to allow voters a say on this critical issue. He's also militantly pro-abortion," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Hanna's positions are anti-family and in favor of big government. Claudia Tenney is a principled conservative who believes in marriage, supports the right of voters to have a say, and will vote to protect innocent human life in the US House."

NOM sent a direct mailer to tens of thousands of voters in Hanna's district, New York's 22nd Congressional District noting that Hanna is the 3rd most liberal Republican in the US House, according to National Journal. The mailer said, "On core issues, Richard Hanna has abandoned us." It says that Hanna is "militantly pro-gay marriage" and "shockingly pro-abortion."

"We realize that Congressman Hanna may have a lead in this race, but we believe he is unfit to serve New York," Brown said. "We are hopeful that New York voters will shock the establishment just as voters in Virginia did in unseating Rep. Eric Cantor. Regardless of the outcome, we are standing on principle to let Rep. Hanna and his allies in Washington know that we will not sit still and watch liberal Republicans join with liberal Democrats to redefine marriage and kill innocent children. We urge voters to reject Richard Hanna on Tuesday."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected], or Matille Thebolt, [email protected], at 703-683-5004

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

Dromm sent his message by way of remarks to the Huffington Post, when he said of anyone who believes in marriage as the union of one man and one woman:

We don't need bigots coming to New York City. They are not welcome here unless they can embrace all of New York's diverse community, including the LGBT community. [...] We don't need bigoted people even keeping their opinions to themselves. They need to wake up and see reality.

"Not welcome here." Yes, you read that right. An individual's own privately-held beliefs, if they conflict with Mr. Drumm's radical new orthodoxy, even if those beliefs are never publicly expressed, make that person guilty of a "thought-crime" and label him or her a "bigot" that doesn't belong in the Big Apple!

What spurred Dromm's remarks? The announcement that Chick-fil-A had plans to expand its operations into New York City. Dromm is one of those intolerant few who still cling bitterly to a misremembered moment in 2012 when Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy was reported in the press expressing his personal belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

In Dromm's and others' imaginations, this meant that Chick-fil-A was an "anti-gay company" and that Cathy and the many thousands who work for him deserve punishment. You may remember how, at the time, several cities mayors and councilmembers said that Chick-fil-A was unwelcome in their jurisdictions. But Dromm's recent remarks go even further: he's effectively said that anyone who believes in marriage, regardless of how privately they hold these beliefs, is a "bigot" who doesn't belong!

I shudder to think I've lived to see the day when a public official in our great nation can make such an outrageously intolerant statement and not be taken to task in every quarter for such an un-American and uncivil position. These remarks should have stirred public outcry and a flurry of media attention: but instead we hear deafening silence from the media, which is tantamount to a tacit approval.

What does this say about our media culture? When Brendan Eich was appointed as the new CEO of Mozilla, and it came to light that years before he had given a donation to Proposition 8, a few activists on Twitter expressed disapproval. But the media eagerly leapt to the task of fanning that flame and ignited a true firestorm in the press that eventually ended with Eich's being forced to step down from his position.

But when the shoe is on the other foot, we don't hear a peep from the press. Where is the national outcry over the news coming last week from Portland, Oregon, about Chauncy Childs and the new business she's trying to start?

You haven't heard of her? I'm not surprised. That's because she's not a gay activist. She's not a radical leftist trying to redefine marriage and family to suit her own personal desires. Instead, she's a pro-marriage individual who posted on her private Facebook page some expressions of her beliefs.

So you probably haven't heard how gay activists are trying to force her business closed before it even opens its doors. They've even been posting lists of vendors that trade with her small shop, Moreland Farmers Pantry, and calling for a boycott of those other businesses until they sever ties with Mrs. Childs. One local restaurant owner, a man who actually supports same-sex ‘marriage,' spoke up against the bullying targeted at Mrs. Childs — and now his restaurant has been targeted by a separate boycott!

Is this the environment we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren? An environment where belief in marriage as God designed it is made into a "thought crime" and the sole criterion by which one can be excluded from a company position, a business relationship, or even a whole city community?

Of course not. Absolutely not. But the culture isn't going to turn around on its own. We need to stand up and speak out.

Here's what you can do.

So here's what you can do today to respond to these latest outrages waged against people like you and me who believe in marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

For those of us who do not live in New York, we can make our voices heard with this summer's March for Marriage on June 19th. We are working hard to make sure we bring as many people to the Capitol as possible, to show that a groundswell of support still exists in our country for the values you and I believe in.

We need to show the radical activists out to redefine marriage that their tactics of intimidation and bullying won't work — that they aren't going to silence us or crowd us out of the public square. On the contrary, we're going to take to the public square even more literally, marching in the streets of our capitol against their brash attempts to curtail our rights of free speech, free assembly, and free exercise.

"What Councilman Dromm has effectively said here is that anyone who believes in marriage as the union of a man and a woman is unwelcome in New York City. Mr. Dromm has alienated and insulted millions of New Yorkers." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) issued a strong condemnation of recently reported remarks by New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm which the organization characterized as "outrageous and intolerant." The organization called upon Dromm to apologize for his words, and for the City Council to condemn the remarks and clarify that they do not reflect the City's values and views.

Dromm's remarks, reported in an April 9th article on The Huffington Post, were in response to the announcement by Chick-fil-A of the company's plans to expand operations into New York City. Dromm was reported as saying, "We don't need bigots coming to New York City. They are not welcome here unless they can embrace all of New York's diverse community, including the LGBT community. […] We don't need bigoted people even keeping their opinions to themselves. They need to wake up and see reality."

Brian Brown, NOM's President responded to the comments with condemnation. "These remarks are outrageous and intolerant, and sadly seem to be part of a trend developing in the public debate surrounding this issue," Brown said. "When Dan Cathy's pro-marriage views were first reported in 2012, we saw mayors and city councils saying similar things—it was a disgraceful circus then, and it is now."

But Brown said that Dromm's remarks go even further than previous attempts to punish Chick-fil-A for its CEO's personal views.

"What Dromm has effectively said here is that anyone who believes in marriage as the union of a man and a woman is unwelcome in New York City," Brown noted. "His remarks, coming amidst a climate of such unseemly attacks on pro-marriage people as we saw with the Mozilla controversy last week, simply reinforce a growing manifestation of hostility and intimidation in the public square toward folks with traditional values. Christians and others are now, it seems, going to be considered guilty of 'thought-crimes' and threatened with all manner of reprisals simply for holding their beliefs."

Brown called on the City Council to condemn Dromm's statements and to issue a formal apology to New Yorkers: "Mr. Dromm has alienated and insulted millions of New Yorkers and made them feel like they don't belong in their own home city. The Council should correct this and extend an apology immediately and undo the hurt and wrong that's been done."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, [email protected], or Matille Thebolt, [email protected], at 703-683-5004

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

We've shared with you before this insightful article by Ryan Anderson at Heritage about the recent resignation of Brendan Eich from Mozilla. In it, Ryan remarked:

The debate over the meaning and purpose of marriage will continue. We should conduct it in a civil manner. Bullies may win for a while, but theirs is a scorched-earth policy. They poison democratic discourse and fray the bonds on which democracy itself ultimately depends.

Even those who disagree with each other about morally charged issues of public policy need to be able to live together.

But lest we think that Eich's ouster is an outlier, a rare case, consider this more recent news out of New York City. Via the Huffington Post, a gay city councilman is quoted as protesting the entrance of an unwanted new presence into his city. From his remarks here, who might you guess he's talking about?

"We don’t need bigots coming to New York City," Councilman Daniel Dromm, who is openly gay, told HuffPost. "They are not welcome here unless they can embrace all of New York's diverse community, including the LGBT community."

... Dromm, the city councilman, said there was no place for Chick-fil-A in New York, even if it remains out of the political fray.

“We don’t need bigoted people even keeping their opinions to themselves,” he said. “They need to wake up and see reality.”

Not only is the sleight of "bigot," directed toward those who hold marriage to be the union of a man and a woman, completely unfair, mean-spirited, and wide of the mark. More than that: here we have the most compelling proof one could want of Ryan Anderson's assertion that the gay rights community is engaged in a "scorched earth" policy of bigotry and intolerance.

It is a "thought policy" regime in the making, and if anyone thinks a lesson was learned with the Mozilla controversy, he or she needs only consider this later story to realize that Eich's treatment was only a template for the radical homosexual lobby's plans for the future. For now, it's chilling enough to know that an elected city councilman in New York has just told millions of his fellow residents that they are unwelcome there simply on account of their pro-marriage values.

Back in 2011, then-New York Senator Jim Alesi betrayed marriage and his constituents by accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from gay marriage advocates and flipping his position on marriage. But no amount of money can buy the support of voters once you've lost their trust. Sen. Alesi was subsequently driven from his re-election race by NOM's pledge to defeat him, and later claimed that his vote for same-sex marriage was what sunk his political career.

So what is former Sen. Alesi up to these days? New York Gov. Cuomo has just appointed him to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. According to Albany Watch:

The longtime lawmaker will make $90,800 annually on top of his pension, which totals $35,231, according to the Empire Center.

Alesi said Cuomo’s office reached out to him as it was filling vacancies on various boards and commissions. The former senator fills a seat that has been vacant since 2011, with his term lasting through Nov. 18, 2017.

The former senator was one of four Republicans to vote in favor of same-sex marriage in 2011, giving the bill key support to become law. He was repeatedly hailed by Cuomo following the vote, but stepped away from running for re-election in 2012.

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage NY PAC, today, endorsed Rev. Erick Salgado for Mayor of New York City.

"NOM is proud to endorse a candidate who has the courage to stand up for conservative principles and join us in our support of traditional marriage," NOM President Brian Brown said.

"There are millions of people in New York City who support traditional marriage and deserve to have their voices heard. Rev. Erick Salgado is not only that voice, but is a true leader who has a vision for New York that is based on conservative values," Brown continued.

Brown also questioned the Conservative Party's endorsement of candidate Joe Lhota, pointing out that Lhota has not only expressed his support of gay marriage, but stated during a January 17, 2013 interview on NY1's "Road to City Hall" that he "looked forward" to performing gay marriages as mayor.

"Joe Lhota's view on gay marriage is extreme and not in step with conservatism," Brown said. "While I have great personal respect for the leadership of the Conservative Party, we reject the endorsement of Joe Lhota. Erick Salgado is the candidate who will work to restore marriage in New York, and we are proud to support him."

The National Organization for Marriage and NOM NY PAC has helped win a number of victories in New York City and across the State. "We worked together with local allies to elect Bob Turner to Congress, David Storobin to the State Senate and defeated three of the four State Senators who flip-flopped on gay marriage. Now we urge New Yorkers to show their support for marriage by rallying around Erick Salgado," Brown concluded.

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Jen Campbell (x145), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Washington, D.C. — The following statement may be attributable to Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage:

"We condemn in the strongest possible way the murder of a gay man in New York by a killer who apparently hurled anti-gay insults at him moments before the killing. This senseless act cannot be condoned in America or anywhere, and we urge that the perpetrator be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Our heart goes out to the family of the victim, and we hold them in our prayers. While this killing appears to have no connection to the current debate about redefining marriage, there is no room for violence toward any American — whether they support traditional marriage or not. No person should be subjected to violence because they are gay or lesbian or because they believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. There is no place for violence, period."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Jen Campbell (x145), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

Is same-sex marriage the same time-honored institution of marriage that societies everywhere have always recognized and celebrated, or does it represent a fundamental shift in principles and values, an essential and complete redefinition of marriage itself?

Well, imagine this promotion running in your grandparents’ Wall Street Journal as hopeful GI’s returned from World War II, and you tell me what you think:

NüVo Condoms to sponsor FIRST gay wedding ever at NYC PrideFest on June 30, 2013

NüVo Condoms is seeking a gay couple who is interested in getting hitched with an all expenses paid wedding at this years NYC PrideFest on June 30,2013. Are you a gay couple that has been looking to tie the knot? Wait no longer -- NüVo Condoms wants you to take the plunge! In honor of the 2nd year anniversary of the legalization of gay marriage in New York, NüVo will be sponsoring the FIRST WEDDING ever at NYC PrideFest for one lucky couple.

[…]

When speaking about the wedding at NYC Pridefest, BennyBwoy, spokesperson for NüVo Condoms stated, “We are excited about this event, we continue to create awareness for our brand, and more importantly the critical need for greater safe sex practices. This wedding is just another vehicle to get the word out about safe sex.”

The institution of marriage as “just another vehicle” to promote and advertise the use of condoms? Somehow I don’t think our ancestors would have seen it that way.

In 2011, before same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, promises were made that the bill would not impact anyone but same-sex couples who simply desired to be 'married.' We knew that was false then... and New York parents are beginning to learn the truth now.

Christian News is reporting that in Red Hook, New York, 13 and 14 year old girls were encouraged to mimic lesbian behavior and to "ask one another for a kiss" at a school "anti-bullying" presentation. Two girls were brought on stage and asked to act like lesbians out on a date. The boys were told to carry a condom with them at all times.

Parents weren't given any notice of this school event. And, confronted by angry parents, "the principal and the district superintendant are defending the workshops, and are advising that they will schedule more."

My friend, this is what's at stake: our right to raise our children with our values, free from indoctrination into alternative "lifestyles" under the guise of "anti-bullying," "tolerance" and "gender identity."

And right now every donation you give will be matched by a generous supporter—so your donation today will have TWICE the impact!

You and I know that same-sex marriage isn't a "live and let live" proposition... it's a direct attack on the values and religious liberties of people with a traditional understanding of marriage.

Politicians never forthrightly tell citizens that their daughters could be encouraged at school to kiss another girl or that their sons should always carry a condom. They don't tell you that second graders can be taught about same-sex "marriage" in class, or that the existence of gay "marriage" would be used by a lesbian sex-ed teacher in Massachusetts to instruct her students in the details of having lesbian sex. And they don't tell you about all the people who are sued or punished for refusing to go along with a gay "marriage" regime and who hold firm for traditional marriage.

It's an agenda pushed by a set of people who truly believe that anyone who stands up for the simple truth that marriage is between a man and a woman because children have a right to both a mother and a father is a bigot and must be treated as such under the law. And as such, the law must be brought to bear to "correct" our hateful thinking and ensure that this "hatred" is not passed along to our children.

And yet, whenever bills to legalize same-sex marriage are proposed, activists and their political allies fall all over themselves to reassure the public that traditional values and religious liberties will be respected and that there will be no consequences for people of faith.

They're doing so again, right now in Rhode Island and Delaware—both of which have same-sex marriage legislation pending—making the same exact promises about values, religious liberty and education that have been broken time and again in other states.

It is critical that we demonstrate the American people's support of marriage as the union of one man and one woman at precisely the time when the Supreme Court is deliberating the most important cases of our generation!

If same-sex "marriage" is passed in Rhode Island and Delaware, people of faith and their children will be in the crosshairs. In addition, it will provide a boost to efforts in other states to redefine marriage and feed the false narrative that marriage redefinition is inevitable.

Supporter, redefining marriage is NOT inevitable. NOM has defeated countless bills seeking to redefine marriage in the past... and with your help, we will continue to do so at this most critically important juncture!

Because wherever marriage has been redefined, people of faith have suffered and children are targeted.

Brian Brown, President of NOM, on the GOP grassroots mobilizing to unseat one of the two Republican representatives in Congress who recently came out against the Republican platform which pledges to protect marriage:

Only two members of Congress were among the several dozen Republicans who signed on to a legal brief asserting the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, and one of them was upstate New York congressman Richard Hanna.

Hanna's support for the brief comes in defiance of last fall's election results, when three of the four Republicans in the State Senate who voted in favor of same-sex marriage were defeated at the polls. And, in the eyes of same-sex marriage opponents, what Hanna did was even worse.

"It's much more egregious," said Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage.

"To sign on to this completely novel and erroneous understanding of our law is an embarrassment to him, and obviously they should be primaried," he added. (Capital New York)

An important news story by Patrick Condon in the Associated Press confirms what we have been highlighting for a long time -- Republicans who betray their base on marriage place their political future in serious jeopardy:

As some Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature weigh whether to support legalizing same-sex marriage, an analysis of gay-marriage votes from other states shows that GOP lawmakers who backed it often faced consequences, including loss of their seats.

... Republicans inclined to back gay marriage face risks.

"It was largely responsible for my loss," said Jean White, a former Republican state senator in Colorado whose 2011 vote for civil unions became an issue in a primary challenge by a fellow Republican...

According to roll call votes, in the eight times nationwide that state legislatures voted for gay marriage, just 47 Republicans bucked the party line out of many hundreds who voted against it.

Of those 47 Republicans who voted yes starting in 2009, 21 are in office today.

In New York, one of four Republican senators who supported gay marriage is still in the Legislature. One lost a primary, one retired, and one lost the general election after narrowly winning a bitter primary.

A New Hampshire Republican representative lost a primary after her 2009 vote for gay marriage, and in Maryland the former Senate Republican leader relinquished his leadership post when he started working with Democrats on a gay-marriage bill that passed last year.

"I got a lot of flak, a lot," said that senator, Allan Kittleman. He's planning to leave the Senate this year to run for a county office instead.

In Washington, which passed gay marriage in 2012, two of six Republicans who backed the bill are no longer in office.

NYC Mayor-hopeful Bill de Blasio and his wife are both "staunch supporters of gay marriage" but the New York Daily News mentions that before getting married and having two children with his wife, she identified as a lesbian:

"... While Quinn is running a historic campaign to become the city’s first lesbian mayor, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is married to a woman who was out and proud in the 1970s.

De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, penned a seven-page article for Essence magazine in 1979 titled “I Am a Lesbian” that detailed her emotional path to coming out as a gay woman.

... After the article surfaced Thursday on the Politicker website, de Blasio’s campaign released a statement from McCray.

“In the 1970s, I identified as a lesbian, and wrote about it,” she said. “In 1991, I met the love of my life, married him, and together we’ve raised two amazing kids. I’m reminded every day how lucky I am to have met my soulmate.”

... Essence described McCray at the time as a 24-year-old “free-lance writer.” She wrote that she was “fortunate because I discovered my preference for women early, before getting locked into a traditional marriage and having children.”